Orfila Vineyards Sangiovese 2003

The full name of this wine is actually Orfila Vineyards Estate Sangiovese "Di Collina" 2003. Quite a mouthful, but then this wine was quite a mouthful too. We picked this bottle up last January when we went to visit the quaint town of Julian, Califonia (about an hour east of San Diego). While this isn't where you'd ordinarily think of as "wine country," there are in fact several wineries in that area. (For more on Julian, visit my archives.)

We visited the Orfila tasting room, which also doubled as a shop selling gourmet olives, oils and jams. (It turns out however, that the actual Orfila winery is right outside of San Diego.) We tasted a variety of interesting wines, and brought a bottle of this one home with us. Now, ten months later, we opened it to celebrate Mark's birthday. The bouquet was of plum, grape and spice, and it was a rich red with good legs. The first sip was very gratifying to me, because I could instantly tell that it was not a cabernet. The big, smooth cherry flavor rounded nicely in my mouth but didn't have the long finish I'd become used to from the cabs I've been drinking lately. Mark and I both really liked this wine - we felt it was full and nicely balanced, and tasted good by itself and when served with dinner. I wish we could get our hands on this again, but I'm fairly sure that Orfila doesn't make it to NY. But next time you're in San Diego, consider taking a road trip.